The Forest Department on Saturday intensified its effort to locate a tusker, whose front left leg had been trapped in a tyre, after it was sighted inside Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.
Forest Department sources elephant had already hurt itself and started to limp. Close to a fortnight now, the elephant has been struggling to move with the tyre in its leg.
“We are aware that elephant is ailing. We are trying to locate and remove tyre from the leg as soon as possible,” said Kedar Swain, Divisional Forest Officer of Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary, said.
Earlier attempts of tranquilising the elephant had failed as forest department personnel were hurt when the pachyderm attacked them in Athagarh area in fourth week of January last. Experts said proper procedures had not been followed to tranquilise the elephant. They opined entire operation should have been done by separating the wild elephant from onlookers.
Wildlife activists, however, termed the incident as a reflection of an acute human-elephant conflict prevailing in the State. A few years ago, in mineral rich Keonjhar district, an elephant used to stop trucks and other vehicles in anticipation of food.